Crafty Secrets August Linky Party and a tutorial on making colored fluff

Hello crafty friends, I get to share my first crafty secrets linky party and challenge project with you! {whoo hoo} So scroll down and check out this short tutorial to see how I made my own colored "fluff" for the grassy sections I highlighted on the vintage childhood school image from the childhood image and journal notes booklet. {it's pretty cool}

I like to add dimension to many of my projects by inking the edges, there is no real rocket science to this, just sponge the edges lightly with an ink that you love!

I like to use a really strong adhesive when assembling 3D objects, they are inherently fragile as they are made from paper, but if you use a super sticky bonding material it wont fall apart when the first crayon is pulled from the box.

I cut this 8 count crayon box with my Silhouette Cameo, but don't fret if you don't have a die cutting machine, there are several templates you could use out there too!

I hand trimmed the little school image, but since I almost always have rough edges I like to simply sand the edges nice and smooth so my ....ahem...lack of cutting skills isn't instantly obvious! {the very reason I have a die cutting machine} ;)

Now that I have my box assembled its time to embellish a little, I added glossy accents to the entire sky portion of the image and set it aside to dry, this was hard for me because I'm really impatient but leave it you must! while it's drying grab a paper plate some green cardstock and your microplaner.

Yes the kind you use in your kitchen {or your garage} to grate lemon peel or nutmeg! I rolled up a scrap piece of paper and "grated" the paper to create a paper "dust" or fluff that can be used as a soft fluffy embellishment in any color you want!

It took two minutes to make this fluff, and cost me ZERO! 

I drew a line with glossy accents where I wanted my grassy sections to be highlighted and sprinkled it on, tapped of the excess and TADA! 

I hope you found that little tip helpful, I was pretty excited that it works! I may need to buy an extra planer for the craftroom! What do you think? Are you going to try it?

Now it’s your turn!  Visit each of the design team blogs listed below.  Then create a NEW project of your choice featuring Crafty Secrets product and link it up to the blog (http://heartwarmingvintage.blogspot.com/) no later than 11:59PT, Sunday, August 17th^th. You do not need to follow this month’s theme to play along.  If you do not have any Crafty Secrets goodies, check the FREE DOWNLOADS located in the sidebar of the Crafty Secrets blog.  Be sure to link to the Crafty Secrets Blog in your post, and let us know what Crafty Secrets product you are using in your project. One lucky player will be randomly selected to win a $50 shopping spree in our online store.  Each player who participates will receive a $6 credit to the online store.  We’ll be popping by to leave you some lovely comments on your blog post, too. Thanks for playing along, and good luck!

Crafty Secrets Design Team

Kathy Clement, DT Leader  http://www.kathybydesign.com

Darlene Pavlick, Dar’s Crafty Creations    http://darscraftycreations.blogspot.com/

Diane Hover, Nellie’s Nest   http://www.nelliesnest.blogspot.com

Elizabeth Lincoln, Paper Passtimes   http://paperpasstimes.blogspot.com/

Gloria Stengel, Scraps of Life   http://gloriascraps.blogspot.com/

Melody Clement, Paper Melody’s   http://papermelodys.wordpress.com/

Michele Kovack, Thoughts of a Cardmaking Scrapbooker   http://chelemom.blogspot.com/

Shantaie Fowler, Inking Pink  http://www.inkingpink.com/

Sheila Rumney, Sheila Rumney Design and Photography,   http://www.sheilarumney.com/

 Happy creating! Shantaie